Welcome to the debut installment of Good Morning, a column offering a glimpse into the workings of The Sentinel-Standard newsroom, newspaper and Website.

As a newspaper editor I know how valuable time is, so I promise not to take more than a few minutes of your day. I hope you'll find it time well spent.

Holiday fun

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we are asking readers to share what they are thankful for this year. We will publish the list closer to Thanksgiving.

Please limit your list to 20 words or less, and email it to us along with your name and hometown: newsroom@sentinel-standard.com or drop it by our office (don't forget we have a drop-slot to the right of our front door for after-hour deposits).

Here are a few items on my list this year, maybe they will help you to get started on your own list: Good health; warm sunshine on cold days; being married to my best friend; and my old dog playing like a puppy.

When you're sitting around the Thanksgiving dinner table, ask family members to each share one thing they are thankful for. It's interesting to hear how different people respond. Even though Veterans Day has passed, we still welcome military photos, so keep them coming.

From the past

Being relatively new to the area, I find it exciting to learn about Ionia County's rich past and the diverse fabric that makes up our communities. I hope you enjoy my research - here are some interesting tidbits from our archives:

100 YEARS AGO

• A meeting was called to "save" the Ionia Fair Grounds. At the time, sealed bids were being accepted by E.E. Selye, secretary for the Ionia Fair & Exposition Association. The sale includes the 45 acre property, half-mile racetrack, halls, barns, sheds and 10 acres of growing timber.

• There was much speculation as to what Governor-elect Ferris would address in his inaugural speech.

• Michigan battled with the "suffrage" issue, including exactly which women should be eligible to vote and at what age. Citizenship status and marital impact also muddled the issue because, "the simple rule is that a woman born in America is a citizen and any woman upon being married takes the citizenship of her husband, whatever that may be." n A good woman or girl was wanted to work at the county home, and men were need to saw logs and wood at E.H. Stafford Mfg. Co.

25 YEARS AGO

• Voters pass a special ed. millage for the Ionia County Intermediate School District, 2,515 in favor, 1,751 against.

Lori Kilchermann is general manager of the Ionia Sentinel-Standard and regional editor for GateHouse Media's family of Michigan newspapers. Have a question, comment or story idea? Call her at lori.kilchermann@sentinel-standard.com or call 616-527-2100.